Autonomous vehicle cloud system

ABSTRACT

Provided herein is a technology for an autonomous vehicle cloud system (AVCS). The AVCS provides sensing, prediction, decision-making, and/or control instructions for specific vehicles at a microscopic level using data from one or more of other vehicles, a roadside unit, cloud-based platform, or traffic control center/traffic control unit. Specifically, the autonomous vehicles are effectively and efficiently operated and controlled by the AVCS. The AVCS provides individual vehicles with detailed time-sensitive control instructions for vehicles to fulfill driving tasks. The AVCS is configured to predict individual vehicle behavior and provide planning and decision-making at a microscopic level to improve AV operations. In addition, the AVCS is configured to provide one or more of virtual traffic light management, travel demand assignment, traffic state estimation, and platoon control.

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/840,249, filed Jun. 14, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/741,903, filed May 11, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/776,846, filed Jan. 30, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,430,328, issued Aug. 30, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/135,916, filed Sep. 19, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,692,365, issued Jun. 23, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. Ser. No. 62/627,005, filed Feb. 6, 2018 and is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/628,331, filed Jun. 20, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,380,886, issued Aug. 13, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. Ser. No. 62/507,453, filed May 17, 2017, each of which of the foregoing is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an intelligent road infrastructure system providing transportation management and operations and individual vehicle control for connected and automated vehicles (CAV), and, more particularly, to a system controlling CAVs by sending individual vehicles with customized, detailed, and time-sensitive control instructions and traffic information for automated vehicle driving, such as vehicle following, lane changing, route guidance, and other related information.

BACKGROUND

Autonomous vehicles, vehicles that are capable of sensing their environment and navigating without or with reduced human input, are in development. At present, they are in experimental testing and not in widespread commercial use. Existing approaches require expensive and complicated on-board systems, making widespread implementation a substantial challenge.

Alternative systems and methods that address these problems are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/628,331, filed Jun. 20, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/626,862, filed Feb. 6, 2018, the disclosures which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety (referred to herein as a CAVH system).

The invention provides systems and methods for an Intelligent Road Infrastructure System (IRIS), which facilitates vehicle operations and control for connected automated vehicle highway (CAVH) systems. IRIS systems and methods provide vehicles with individually customized information and real-time control instructions for vehicle to fulfill the driving tasks such as car following, lane changing, and route guidance. IRIS systems and methods also manage transportation operations and management services for both freeways and urban arterials.

SUMMARY

The invention provides systems and methods for an Intelligent Road Infrastructure System (IRIS), which facilitates vehicle operations and control for connected automated vehicle highway (CAVH) systems. IRIS systems and methods provide vehicles with individually customized information and real-time control instructions for vehicle to fulfill the driving tasks such as car following, lane changing, and route guidance. IRIS systems and methods also manage transportation operations and management services for both freeways and urban arterials.

In some embodiments, the IRIS comprises or consists of one of more of the following physical subsystems: (1) Roadside unit (RSU) network, (2) Traffic Control Unit (TCU) and Traffic Control Center (TCC) network, (3) vehicle onboard unit (OBU), (4) traffic operations centers (TOCs), and (5) cloud information and computing services. The IRIS manages one or more of the following function categories: sensing, transportation behavior prediction and management, planning and decision making, and vehicle control. IRIS is supported by real-time wired and/or wireless communication, power supply networks, and cyber safety and security services.

The present technology provides a comprehensive system providing full vehicle operations and control for connected and automated vehicle and highway systems by sending individual vehicles with detailed and time-sensitive control instructions. It is suitable for a portion of lanes, or all lanes of the highway. In some embodiments, those instructions are vehicle-specific and they are sent by a lowest level TCU, which are optimized and passed from a top level TCC. These TCC/TCUs are in a hierarchical structure and cover different levels of areas.

In some embodiments, provided herein are systems and methods comprising: an Intelligent Road Infrastructure System (IRIS) that facilitates vehicle operations and control for a connected automated vehicle highway (CAVH). In some embodiments, the systems and methods provide individual vehicles with detailed customized information and time-sensitive control instructions for vehicle to fulfill the driving tasks such as car following, lane changing, route guidance, and provide operations and maintenance services for vehicles on both freeways and urban arterials. In some embodiments, the systems and methods are built and managed as an open platform; subsystems, as listed below, in some embodiments, are owned and/or operated by different entities, and are shared among different CAVH systems physically and/or logically, including one or more of the following physical subsystems:

-   -   a. Roadside unit (RSU) network, whose functions include sensing,         communication, control (fast/simple), and drivable ranges         computation;     -   b. Traffic Control Unit (TCU) and Traffic Control Center (TCC)         network;     -   c. Vehicle onboard units (OBU) and related vehicle interfaces;     -   d. Traffic operations centers; and     -   e. Cloud based platform of information and computing services.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods manage one or more of the following function categories:

-   -   a. Sensing;     -   b. Transportation behavior prediction and management;     -   c. Planning and decision making; and     -   d. Vehicle control.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods are supported by one or more of the following:

-   -   a. Real-time Communication via wired and wireless media;     -   b. Power supply network; and     -   c. Cyber safety and security system.

In some embodiments, the function categories and physical subsystems of IRIS have various configurations in terms of function and physic device allocation. For example, in some embodiments a configuration comprises:

-   -   a. RSUs provide real-time vehicle environment sensing and         traffic behavior prediction, and send instantaneous control         instructions for individual vehicles through OBUs;     -   b. TCU/TCC and traffic operation centers provides short-term and         long-term transportation behavior prediction and management,         planning and decision making, and collecting/processing         transportation information with or without cloud information and         computing services;     -   c. The vehicle OBUs, as above, collect vehicle generated data,         such as vehicle movement and condition and send to RSUs, and         receive inputs from the RSUs. Based on the inputs from RSU, OBU         facilitates vehicle control. When the vehicle control system         fails, the OBU may take over in a short time period to stop the         vehicle safely. In some embodiments, the vehicle OBU contains         one or more of the following modules: (1) a communication         module, (2) a data collection module and (3) a vehicle control         module. Other modules may also be included.

In some embodiments, a communication module is configured for data exchange between RSUs and OBUs, and, as desired, between other vehicle OBUs. Vehicle sourced data may include, but is not limit to:

-   -   a. Human input data, such as: origin-destination of the trip,         expected travel time, expected start and arrival time, and         service requests;     -   b. Human condition data, such as human behaviors and human         status (e.g., fatigue level); and     -   c. Vehicle condition data, such as vehicle ID, type, and the         data collected by the data collection module.

Data from RSUs may include, but is not limit to:

-   -   a. Vehicle control instructions, such as: desired longitudinal         and lateral acceleration rate, desired vehicle orientation;     -   b. Travel route and traffic information, such as: traffic         conditions, incident, location of intersection, entrance and         exit; and     -   c. Services data, such as: fuel station, point of interest.

In some embodiments, a data collection module collects data from vehicle installed external and internal sensors and monitors vehicle and human status, including but not limited to one or more of:

-   -   a. Vehicle engine status;     -   b. Vehicle speed;     -   c. Surrounding objects detected by vehicles; and     -   d. Human conditions.

In some embodiments, a vehicle control module is used to execute control instructions from an RSU for driving tasks such as, car following and lane changing.

In some embodiments, the sensing functions of an IRIS generate a comprehensive information at real-time, short-term, and long-term scale for transportation behavior prediction and management, planning and decision-making, vehicle control, and other functions. The information includes but is not limited to:

-   -   a. Vehicle surrounding, such as: spacing, speed difference,         obstacles, lane deviation;     -   b. Weather, such as: weather conditions and pavement conditions;     -   c. Vehicle attribute data, such as: speed, location, type,         automation level;     -   d. Traffic state, such as: traffic flow rate, occupancy, average         speed;     -   e. Road information, such as: signal, speed limit; and     -   f. Incidents collection, such as: occurred crash and congestion.

In some embodiments, the IRIS is supported by sensing functions that predict conditions of the entire transportation network at various scales including but not limited to:

-   -   a. Microscopic level for individual vehicles, such as:         longitudinal movements (car following, acceleration and         deceleration, stopping and standing), lateral movements (lane         keeping, lane changing);     -   b. Mesoscopic level for road corridor and segments, such as:         special event early notification, incident prediction, weaving         section merging and diverging, platoon splitting and         integrating, variable speed limit prediction and reaction,         segment travel time prediction, segment traffic flow prediction;         and     -   c. Macroscopic level for the road network, such as: potential         congestions prediction, potential incidents prediction, network         traffic demand prediction, network status prediction, network         travel time prediction.

In some embodiments, the IRIS is supported by sensing and prediction functions, realizes planning and decision-making capabilities, and informs target vehicles and entities at various spacious scales including, but not limited to:

-   -   a. Microscopic level, such as longitudinal control (car         following, acceleration and deceleration) and lateral control         (lane keeping, lane changing);     -   b. Mesoscopic level, such as: special event notification, work         zone, reduced speed zone, incident detection, buffer space, and         weather forecast notification. Planning in this level ensures         the vehicle follows all stipulated rules (permanent or         temporary) to improve safety and efficiency; and     -   c. Macroscopic level, such as: route planning and guidance,         network demand management.

In some embodiments, the planning and decision-making functions of IRIS enhance reactive measures of incident management and support proactive measures of incident prediction and prevention, including but not limited to:

-   -   a. For reactive measures, IRIS detects occurred incidents         automatically and coordinate related agencies for further         actions. It will also provide incident warnings and rerouting         instructions for affected traffic; and     -   b. For proactive measures, IRIS predicts potential incidents and         sends control instructions to lead affected vehicles to safety,         and coordinate related agencies for further actions.

In some embodiments, the IRIS vehicle control functions are supported by sensing, transportation behavior prediction and management, planning and decision making, and further include, but are not limit to the following:

-   -   a. Speed and headway keeping: keep the minimal headway and         maximal speed on the lane to reach the max possible traffic         capacity;     -   b. Conflict avoidance: detects potential accident/conflicts on         the lane, and then sends a warning message and conflict avoid         instructions to vehicles. Under such situations, vehicles must         follow the instructions from the lane management system;     -   c. Lane keeping: keep vehicles driving on the designated lane;     -   d. Curvature/elevation control: make sure vehicles keep and         adjust to the proper speed and angle based on factors such as         road geometry, pavement condition;     -   e. Lane changing control: coordinate vehicles lane changing in         proper orders, with the minimum disturbance to the traffic flow;     -   f. System boundary control: vehicle permission verification         before entering, and system takeover and handoff mechanism for         vehicle entering and exiting, respectively;     -   g. Platoon control and fleet management;     -   h. System failure safety measures: (1) the system provides         enough response time for a driver or the vehicle to take over         the vehicle control during a system fail, or (2) other measures         to stop vehicles safely; and     -   i. Task priority management: providing a mechanism to prioritize         various control objectives.

In some embodiments, the RSU has one or more module configurations including, but not limited to:

-   -   a. Sensing module for driving environment detection;     -   b. Communication module for communication with vehicles, TCUs         and cloud via wired or wireless media;     -   c. Data processing module that processes the data from the         sensing and communication module;     -   d. Interface module that communicates between the data         processing module and the communication module; and     -   e. Adaptive power supply module that adjusts power delivery         according to the conditions of the local power grid with backup         redundancy.

In some embodiments, a sensing module includes one or more of the flowing types of sensors:

-   -   a. Radar based sensors that work with vision sensor to sense         driving environment and vehicle attribute data, including but         not limited to:         -   i. LiDAR;         -   ii. Microwave radar;         -   iii. Ultrasonic radar; and         -   iv. Millimeter radar;     -   b. Vision based sensors that work with radar based sensors to         provide driving environment data, including but not limited to:         -   i. Color camera;         -   ii. Infrared camera for night time; and         -   iii. Thermal camera for night time;     -   c. Satellite based navigation system that work with inertial         navigation system to support vehicle locating, including but not         limited to:         -   i. DGPS; and         -   ii. BeiDou System;     -   d. inertial navigation system that work with the satellite based         navigation system to support vehicle locating, including but not         limited to an inertial reference unit; and     -   e. Vehicle identification devices, including but not limited to         RFID.

In some embodiments, the RSUs are installed and deployed based on function requirements and environment factors, such as road types, geometry and safety considerations, including but not limited to:

-   -   a. Some modules are not necessarily installed at the same         physical location as the core modules of RSUs;     -   b. RSU spacing, deployment and installation methods may vary         based on road geometry to archive maximal coverage and eliminate         detection blind spots. Possible installation locations include         but not limited to: freeway roadside, freeway on/off ramp,         intersection, roadside buildings, bridges, tunnels, roundabouts,         transit stations, parking lots, railroad crossings, school         zones; and     -   c. RSU are installed on:         -   i. Fixed locations for long-term deployment; and         -   ii. Mobile platforms, including but not limited to: cars and             trucks, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for short-term or             flexible deployment.

In some embodiments, RSUs are deployed on special locations and time periods that require additional system coverage, and RSU configurations may vary. The special locations include, but are not limited to:

-   -   a. Construction zones;     -   b. Special events, such as sports games, street fairs, block         parties, concerts; and     -   c. Special weather conditions such as storms, heavy snow.

In some embodiments, the TCCs and TCUs, along with the RSUs, may have a hierarchical structure including, but not limited to:

-   -   a. Traffic Control Center (TCC) realizes comprehensive traffic         operations optimization, data processing and archiving         functionality, and provides human operations interfaces. A TCC,         based on the coverage area, may be further classified as         macroscopic TCC, regional TCC, and corridor TCC;     -   b. Traffic Control Unit (TCU), realizes real-time vehicle         control and data processing functionality, that are highly         automated based on preinstalled algorithms. A TCU may be further         classified as Segment TCU and point TCUs based on coverage         areas; and     -   c. A network of Road Side Units (RSUs), that receive data flow         from connected vehicles, detect traffic conditions, and send         targeted instructions to vehicles, wherein the point or segment         TCU can be physically combined or integrated with an RSU.

In some embodiments, the cloud based platform provides the networks of RSUs and TCC/TCUs with information and computing services, including but not limited to:

-   -   a. Storage as a service (STaaS), meeting additional storage         needs of IRIS;     -   b. Control as a service (CCaaS), providing additional control         capability as a service for IRIS;     -   c. Computing as a service (CaaS), providing entities or groups         of entities of IRIS that requires additional computing         resources; and     -   d. Sensing as a service (SEaaS), providing additional sensing         capability as a service for IRIS.

The systems and methods may include and be integrated with functions and components described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/626,862, filed Feb. 6, 2018, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods provide a virtual traffic light control function. In some such embodiments, a cloud-based traffic light control system, characterized by including sensors in road side such as sensing devices, control devices and communication devices. In some embodiments, the sensing components of RSUs are provided on the roads (e.g, intersections) for detecting road vehicle traffic, for sensing devices associated with the cloud system over a network connection, and for uploading information to the cloud system. The cloud system analyzes the sensed information and sends information to vehicles through communication devices.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods provide a traffic state estimation function. In some such embodiments, the cloud system contains a traffic state estimation and prediction algorithm. A weighted data fusion approach is applied to estimate the traffic states, the weights of the data fusion method are determined by the quality of information provided by sensors of RSU, TCC/TCU and TOC. When the sensor is unavailable, the method estimates traffic states on predictive and estimated information, guaranteeing that the system provides a reliable traffic state under transmission and/or vehicle scarcity challenges.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods provide a fleet maintenance function. In some such embodiments, the cloud system utilizes its traffic state estimation and data fusion methods to support applications of fleet maintenance such as Remote Vehicle Diagnostics, Intelligent fuel-saving driving and Intelligent charge/refuel.

In some embodiments, the IRIS contains high performance computation capability to allocate computation power to realize sensing, prediction, planning and decision making, and control, specifically, at three levels:

-   -   a. A microscopic level, typically from 1 to 10 milliseconds,         such as vehicle control instruction computation;     -   b. A mesoscopic level, typically from 10 to 1000 milliseconds,         such as incident detection and pavement condition notification;         and     -   c. macroscopic level, typically longer than 1 second, such as         route computing.

In some embodiments, the IRIS manages traffic and lane management to facilitate traffic operations and control on various road facility types, including but not limited to:

-   -   a. Freeway, with methods including but not limited to:         -   i. Mainline lane changing management;         -   ii. Traffic merging/diverging management, such as on-ramps             and off-ramps;         -   iii. High-occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes;         -   iv. Dynamic shoulder lanes;         -   v. Express lanes;         -   vi. Automated vehicle penetration rate management for             vehicles at various automation levels; and         -   vii. Lane closure management, such as work zones, and             incidents; and     -   b. Urban arterials, with methods including but not limited to:         -   i. Basic lane changing management;         -   ii. Intersection management;         -   iii. Urban street lane closure management; and         -   iv. Mixed traffic management to accommodate various modes             such as bikes, pedestrians, and buses.

In some embodiments, the IRIS provides additional safety and efficiency measures for vehicle operations and control under adverse weather conditions, including but not limited to:

-   -   a. High-definition map service, provided by local RSUs, not         requiring vehicle installed sensors, with the lane width, lane         approach (left/through/right), grade (degree of up/down), radian         and other geometry information;     -   b. Site-specific road weather information, provided by RSUs         supported the TCC/TCU network and the cloud services; and     -   c. Vehicle control algorithms designed for adverse weather         conditions, supported by site-specific road weather information.

In some embodiments, the IRIS includes security, redundancy, and resiliency measures to improve system reliability, including but not limited to:

-   -   a. Security measures, including network security and physical         equipment security:         -   i. Network security measures, such as firewalls and             periodical system scan at various levels; and         -   ii. Physical equipment security, such as secured hardware             installation, access control, and identification tracker;     -   b. System redundancy. Additional hardware and software resources         standing-by to fill the failed counterparts;     -   c. System backup and restore, the IRIS system is backed up at         various intervals from the whole system level to individual         device level. If a failure is detected, recovery at the         corresponding scale is performed to restore to the closest         backup; and     -   d. System fail handover mechanism activated when a failure is         detected. A higher-level system unit identifies the failure and         performance corresponding procedure, to replace and/or restore         the failed unit.

Also provided herein are methods employing any of the systems described herein for the management of one or more aspects of traffic control. The methods include those processes undertaken by individual participants in the system (e.g., drivers, public or private local, regional, or national transportation facilitators, government agencies, etc.) as well as collective activities of one or more participants working in coordination or independently from each other.

Some portions of this description describe the embodiments of the invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work effectively to others skilled in the art. These operations, while described functionally, computationally, or logically, are understood to be implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of operations as modules, without loss of generality. The described operations and their associated modules may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or any combinations thereof.

Certain steps, operations, or processes described herein may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software modules, alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a computer processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, and/or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, which may be coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the specification may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.

Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product that is produced by a computing process described herein. Such a product may comprise information resulting from a computing process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium and may include any embodiment of a computer program product or other data combination described herein.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows exemplary OBU Components. 101: Communication module: that can transfer data between RSU and OBU. 102: Data collection module: that can collect data of the vehicle dynamic and static state and generated by human. 103: Vehicle control module: that can execute control command from RSU. When the control system of the vehicle is damaged, it can take over control and stop the vehicle safely. 104: Data of vehicle and human. 105: Data of RSU.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary IRIS sensing framework. 201: Vehicles send data collected within their sensing range to RSUs. 202: RSUs collect lane traffic information based on vehicle data on the lane; RSUs share/broadcast their collected traffic information to the vehicles within their range. 203: RSU collects road incidents information from reports of vehicles within its covering range. 204: RSU of the incident segment send incident information to the vehicle within its covering range. 205: RSUs share/broadcast their collected information of the lane within its range to the Segment TCUs. 206: RSUs collect weather information, road information, incident information from the Segment TCUs. 207/208: RSU in different segment share information with each other. 209: RSUs send incident information to the Segment TCUs. 210/211: Different segment TCUs share information with each other. 212: Information sharing between RSUs and CAVH Cloud. 213: Information sharing between Segment TCUs and CAVH Cloud.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary IRIS prediction framework. 301: data sources comprising vehicle sensors, roadside sensors, and cloud. 302: data fusion module. 303: prediction module based on learning, statistical and empirical algorithms. 304: data output at microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic levels.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary Planning and Decision Making function. 401: Raw data and processed data for three level planning. 402: Planning Module for macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic level planning. 403: Decision Making Module for vehicle control instructions. 404 Macroscopic Level Planning. 405 Mesoscopic Level Planning. 406 Microscopic Level Planning. 407 Data Input for Macroscopic Level Planning: raw data and processed data for macroscopic level planning. 408 Data Input for Mesoscopic Level Planning: raw data and processed data for mesoscopic level planning. 409 Data Input for Microscopic Level Planning: raw data and processed data for microscopic level planning.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary vehicle control flow component. 501: The planning and prediction module send the information to control method computation module. 502: Data fusion module receives the calculated results from different sensing devices. 503: Integrated data sent to the communication module of RSUs. 504: RSUs sends the control command to the OBUs.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary flow chart of longitudinal control.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary flow chart of latitudinal control.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary flow chart of fail-safe control.

FIG. 9 shows exemplary RSU Physical Components. 901 Communication Module. 902 Sensing Module. 903 Power Supply Unit. 904 Interface Module: a module that communicates between the data processing module and the communication module. 905 Data Processing Module: a module that processes the data. 909: Physical connection of Communication Module to Data Processing Module. 910: Physical connection of Sensing Module to Data Processing Module. 911: Physical connection of Data Processing Module to Interface Module. 912: Physical connection of Interface Module to Communication Module

FIG. 10 shows exemplary RSU internal data flows. 1001 Communication Module. 1002 Sensing Module. 1004 Interface Module: a module that communicates between the data processing module and the communication module. 1005 Data Processing Module. 1006 TCU. 1007 Cloud. 1008 OBU. 1013: Data flow from Communication Module to Data Processing Module. 1014: Data flow from Data Processing Module to Interface Module. 1015: Data flow from Interface Module to Communication Module. 1016: Data flow from Sensing Module to Data Processing Module.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary TCC/TCU Network Structure. 1101: control targets and overall system information provided by macroscopic TCC to regional TCC. 1102: regional system and traffic information provided by regional TCC to macroscopic TCC. 1103: control targets and regional information provided by regional TCC to corridor TCC. 1104: corridor system and traffic information provided by corridor TCC to regional TCC. 1105: control targets and corridor system information provided by corridor TCC to segment TCU. 1106: segment system and traffic information provided by segment TCU to corridor TCC. 1107: control targets and segment system information provided by segment TCU to point TCU. 1108: point system and traffic information provided by point TCU to corridor TCU. 1109: control targets and local traffic information provided by point TCU to RSU. 1110: RSU status and traffic information provided by RSU to point TCU. 1111: customized traffic information and control instructions from RSU to vehicles. 1112: information provided by vehicles to RSU. 1113: the services provided by the cloud to RSU/TCC-TCU network.

FIG. 12 shows an exemplary architecture of a cloud system.

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary IRIS Computation Flowchart. 1301: Data Collected From RSU, including but not limited to image data, video data, radar data, On-board unit data. 1302: Data Allocation Module, allocating computation resources for various data processing. 1303 Computation Resources Module for actual data processing. 1304 GPU, graphic processing unit, mainly for large parallel data. 1305 CPU, central processing unit, mainly for advanced control data. 1306 Prediction module for IRIS prediction functionality. 1307 Planning module for IRIS planning functionality. 1308 Decision Making for IRIS decision-making functionality. 1309 data for processing with computation resource assignment. 1310 processed data for prediction module, planning module, decision making module. 1311 results from prediction module to planning module. 1312 results from planning module to decision making module.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary Traffic and Lane Management Flowchart. 1401 Lane management related data collected by RSU and OBU. 1402 Control target and traffic information from upper level IRIS TCU/TCC network. 1403 Lane management and control instructions.

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary Vehicle Control in Adverse Weather component. 1501: vehicle status, location and sensor data. 1502: comprehensive weather and pavement condition data and vehicle control instructions. 1503: wide area weather and traffic information obtained by the TCU/TCC network.

FIG. 16 shows an exemplary IRIS System Security Design. 1601: Network firewall. 1602: Internet and outside services. 1603: Data center for data services, such as data storage and processing. 1604: Local server. 1605: Data transmission flow.

FIG. 17 shows an exemplary IRIS System Backup and Recovery component. 1701: Cloud for data services and other services. 1702: Intranet. 1703: Local Storage for backup. 1704: any IRIS devices, i.e. RSU, TCU, or TCC.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary System Failure Management component.

FIG. 19 shows a sectional view of an exemplary RSU deployment.

FIG. 20 shows a top view of an exemplary RSU deployment.

FIG. 21 shows exemplary RSU lane management on a freeway segment.

FIG. 22 shows exemplary RSU lane management on a typical urban intersection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the technology are described below. It should be understood that these are illustrative embodiments and that the invention is not limited to these particular embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary OBU containing a communication module 101, a data collection module 102, and a vehicle control module 103. The data collection module 102 collects data related to a vehicle and a human 104 and then sends it 104 to an RSU through communication module 101. Also, OBU can receive data of RSU 105 through communication module 101. Based on the data of RSU 105, the vehicle control module 103 helps control the vehicle.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary framework of a lane management sensing system and its data flow.

The RSU exchanges information between the vehicles and the road and communicates with TCUs, the information including weather information, road condition information, lane traffic information, vehicle information, and incident information.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary workflow of a basic prediction process of a lane management sensing system and its data flow. In some embodiments, fused multi-source data collected from vehicle sensors, roadside sensors and the cloud is processed through models including but not limited to learning based models, statistical models, and empirical models. Then predictions are made at different levels including microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic levels using emerging models including learning based, statistic based, and empirical models.

FIG. 4 shows exemplary planning and decision making processes in an IRIS. Data 401 is fed into planning module 402 according to three planning level respectively 407, 408, and 409. The three planning submodules retrieve corresponding data and process it for their own planning tasks. In a macroscopic level 404, route planning and guidance optimization are performed. In a mesoscopic level 405, special event, work zone, reduced speed zone, incident, buffer space, and extreme weather are handled. In a microscopic level 406, longitudinal control and lateral control are generated based on internal algorithm. After computing and optimization, all planning outputs from the three levels are produced and transmitted to decision making module 403 for further processing, including steering, throttle control, and braking.

FIG. 5 shows exemplary data flow of an infrastructure automation based control system. The control system calculates the results from all sensing detectors, conducts data fusion, and exchanges information between RSUs and Vehicles. The control system comprises: a) Control Method Computation Module 501; b) Data Fusion Module 502; c) Communication Module (RSU) 503; and d) Communication Module (OBU) 504.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary process of vehicle longitudinal control. As shown in the figure, vehicles are monitored by the RSUs. If related control thresholds (e.g., minimum headway, maximum speed, etc.) are reached, the necessary control algorithms is triggered. Then the vehicles follow the new control instructions to drive. If instructions are not confirmed, new instructions are sent to the vehicles.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary process of vehicle latitudinal control. As shown in the figure, vehicles are monitored by the RSUs. If related control thresholds (e.g., lane keeping, lane changing, etc.) are reached, the necessary control algorithms are triggered. Then the vehicles follows the new control instructions to drive. If instructions are not confirmed, new instructions are sent to the vehicles.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary process of vehicle fail safe control. As shown in the figure, vehicles are monitored by the RSUs. If an error occurs, the system sends the warning message to the driver to warn the driver to control the vehicle. If the driver does not make any response or the response time is not appropriate for driver to take the decision, the system sends the control thresholds to the vehicle. If related control thresholds (e.g., stop, hit the safety equipment, etc.) are reached, the necessary control algorithms is triggered. Then the vehicles follows the new control instructions to drive. If instructions are not confirmed, new instructions are sent to the vehicles.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary physical component of a typical RSU, comprising a Communication Module, a Sensing Module, a Power Supply Unit, an Interface Module, and a Data Processing Module. The RSU may any of variety of module configurations. For example, for the sense module, a low cost RSU may only include a vehicle ID recognition unit for vehicle tracking, while a typical RSU includes various sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and microwave radar.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary internal data flow within a RSU. The RSU exchanges data with the vehicle OBUs, upper level TCU and the cloud. The data processing module includes two processors: external object calculating Module (EOCM) and AI processing unit. EOCM is for traffic object detection based on inputs from the sensing module and the AI processing unit focuses more on decision-making processes.

FIG. 11 show an exemplary structure of a TCC/TCU network. A macroscopic TCC, which may or may not collaborate with an external TOC, manages a certain number of regional TCCs in its coverage area. Similar, a regional TCC manages a certain number of corridor TCCs, a corridor TCC manages a certain number of segment TCUs, a segment TCU manages a certain number of point TCUs, and a point TCUs manages a certain number of RSUs. An RSU sends customized traffic information and control instructions to vehicles and receives information provided by vehicles. The network is supported by the services provided by the cloud.

FIG. 12 shows how an exemplary cloud system communicates with sensors of RSU, TCC/TCU (1201) and TOC through communication layers (1202). The cloud system contains cloud infrastructure (1204), platform (1205), and application service (1206). The application services also support the applications (1203).

FIG. 13 shows exemplary data collected from sensing module 1301 such as image data, video data, and vehicle status data. The data is divided into two groups by the data allocation module 1302: large parallel data and advanced control data. The data allocation module 1302 decides how to assign the data 1309 with the computation resources 1303, which are graphic processing units (GPUs) 1304 and central processing units (CPUs) 1305. Processed data 1310 is sent to prediction 1306, planning 1307, and decision making modules 1308. The prediction module provides results to the planning module 1311, and the planning module provides results 1312 to the decision making module.

FIG. 14 shows how exemplary data collected from OBUs and RSUs together with control targets and traffic information from upper level IRIS TCC/TCC network 1402 are provided to a TCU. The lane management module of a TCU produces lane management and vehicle control instructions 1403 for a vehicle control module and lane control module.

FIG. 15 shows exemplary data flow for vehicle control in adverse weather. Table 1, below, shows approaches for measurement of adverse weather scenarios.

TABLE 1 IRIS Measures for Adverse Weather Scenarios IRIS Normal autonomous HDMap + TOC + RSU(Camera + Radar + vehicle(only sensors) Lidar)/OBU can greatly mitigate the impact Camera Radar Lidar of adverse weather. Impact in Visibility Detecting Detecting Solution for Solution for Enhance- adverse of lines/ distance distance degrade of degrade of ment for weather signs/ degraded. degraded. visibility. distance vehicle objects detection. control. degraded. Rain ** ** ** HDMap RSU has a RSU can Snow *** ** ** provides info whole vision control Fog **** **** **** of lane/line/ of all vehicles vehicle Sand- **** **** **** sign/geometry, on the road, according storm which enhance so the chance to weather RSU's vision. of crash with (e.g., lower other vehicles the speed are eliminated. on icy road). Number of “*” means the degree of decrease.

FIG. 16 shows exemplary IRIS security measures, including network security and physical equipment security. Network security is enforced by firewalls 1601 and periodically complete system scans at various levels. These firewalls protect data transmission 1605 either between the system and an Internet 1601 or between data centers 1603 and local servers 1604. For physical equipment security, the hardware is safely installed and secured by an identification tracker and possibly isolated.

In FIG. 17 , periodically, IRIS system components 1704 back up the data to local storage 1703 in the same Intranet 1702 through firewall 1601. In some embodiments, it also uploads backup copy through firewall 1601 to the Cloud 1701, logically locating in the Internet 1702.

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary periodic IRIS system check for system failure. When failure happens, the system fail handover mechanism is activated. First, failure is detected and the failed node is recognized. The functions of failed node are handed over to shadow system and success feedback is sent back to an upper level system if nothing goes wrong. Meanwhile, a failed system/subsystem is restarted and/or recovered from a most recent backup. If successful, feedback is reported to an upper level system. When the failure is addressed, the functions are migrated back to the original system.

Exemplary hardware and parameters that find use in embodiments of the present technology include, but are not limited to the following:

OBU:

-   -   a) Communication module Technical Specifications         -   Standard Conformance: IEEE 802.11p—2010         -   Bandwidth: 10 MHz         -   Data Rates: 10 Mbps         -   Antenna Diversity CDD Transmit Diversity         -   Environmental Operating Ranges: −40° C. to +55° C.         -   Frequency Band: 5 GHz         -   Doppler Spread: 800 km/h         -   Delay Spread: 1500 ns         -   Power Supply: 12/24V     -   b) Data collection module Hardware technical Specifications         -   Intuitive PC User Interface for functions such as             configuration, trace, transmit, filter, log etc.         -   High data transfer rate     -   c) Software technical Specifications         -   Tachograph Driver alerts and remote analysis.         -   Real-Time CAN BUS statistics.         -   CO2 Emissions reporting.     -   d) Vehicle control module Technical Specifications         -   Low power consumption         -   Reliable longitudinal and lateral vehicle control

RSU Design

-   -   a) communication module which include three communication         channels:         -    Communication with vehicles including DSRC/4G/5G (e.g., MK5             V2X from Cohda Wireless)         -    Communication with point TCUs including wired/wireless             communication (e.g., Optical Fiber from Cablesys)         -    Communication with cloud including wired/wireless             communication with at least 20M total bandwidth     -   b) data Processing Module which include two processors:         -   External Object Calculating Module (EOCM)         -    Process Object detection using Data from the sensing module             and other necessary regular calculation (e.g., Low power             fully custom ARM/X86 based processor)         -   AI processing Unit         -    Machine learning         -    Decision making/planning and prediction processing     -   c) an interface Module:         -   FPGA based Interface unit     -   FPGA processor that acts like a bridge between the AI processors         and the External Object Calculating Module processors and send         instructions to the communication modules

The RSU Deployment

-   -   a. Deployment location     -   The RSU deployment is based on function requirement and road         type. An RSU is used for sensing, communicating, and controlling         vehicles on the roadway to provide automation. Since the LIDAR         and other sensors (like loop detectors) need different special         location, some of them can be installed separately from the core         processor of RSU.     -   Two exemplary types of RSU location deployment type:         -   i. Fixed location deployment. The location of this type of             RSU are fixed, which is used for serving regular roadways             with fixed traffic demand on the daily basis.         -   ii. Mobile deployment. Mobile RSU can be moved and settled             in new place and situation swiftly, is used to serve             stochastic and unstable demand and special events, crashes,             and others. When an event happens, those mobile RSU can be             moved to the location and perform its functions.     -   b. Method for coverage     -   The RSUs may be connected (e.g., wired) underground. RSUs are         mounted on poles facing down so that they can work properly. The         wings of poles are T-shaped. The roadway lanes that need CAVH         functions are covered by sensing and communication devices of         RSU. There are overlaps between coverage of RSUs to ensure the         work and performance.     -   c. Deployment Density     -   The density of deployment depends on the RSU type and         requirement.

Usually, the minimum distance of two RSU depends on the RSU sensors with minimum covering range.

-   -   d. Blind spot handling     -   There may be blind sensing spots causing by vehicles blocking         each other.         The issue is common and especially serious when spacing between         vehicles are close. A solution for this is to use the         collaboration of different sensing technologies from both RSUs         deployed on infrastructures and OBUs that are deployed on         vehicles.     -   This type of deployment is meant to improve traffic condition         and control performance, under certain special conditions.         Mobile RSU can be brought by agents to the deployment spot. In         most cases, due to the temporary use of special RSUs, the poles         for mounting are not always available. So, those RSU may be         installed on temporary frames, buildings along the roads, or         even overpasses that are location-appropriate.

Certain exemplary RSU configurations are shown in FIGS. 19-22 . FIG. 19 shows a sectional view of an exemplary RSU deployment. FIG. 20 shows an exemplary top view of an RSU deployment. In this road segment, sensing is covered by two types of RSU: 901 RSU A: camera groups, the most commonly used sensors for objects detection; and 902 RSU B: LIDAR groups, which makes 3D representation of targets, providing higher accuracy. Cameras sensor group employ a range that is lower than LIDAR, e.g. in this particular case, below 150 m, so a spacing of 150 m along the roads for those camera groups. Other type of RSUs have less requirement on density (e.g., some of them like LIDAR or ultrasonic sensors involve distances that can be greater).

FIG. 21 shows an exemplary RSU lane management configuration for a freeway segment. The RSU sensing and communication covers each lane of the road segment to fulfill the lane management functions examples (showed in red arrows in figure) including, but not limited to: 1) Lane changing from one lane to another; 2) Merging manipulations from an onramp; 3) Diverging manipulations from highway to offramp; 4) Weaving zone management to ensure safety; and 5) Revisable lane management.

FIG. 22 shows an exemplary lane management configuration for a typical urban intersection. The RSU sensing and communication covers each corner of the intersection to fulfill the lane management functions examples (showed in red in figure) including: 1) Lane changing from one lane to another; 2) Movement management (exclusive left turns in at this lane); 3) Lane closure management at this leg; and 4) Exclusive bicycle lane management. 

1-16. (canceled)
 17. An autonomous vehicle cloud system (AVCS) comprising: a) a cloud-based platform that provides information services and computing services, said cloud-based platform comprising one or more of a sensing subsystem, a prediction subsystem, a planning and decision-making subsystem, and a control subsystem; and b) a communication module that communicates with one or more of: other autonomous vehicles (AVs), a roadside unit (RSU), or a traffic control center/traffic control unit (TCC/TCU); and that receives vehicle-specific information from the other AVs; the RSU; or the TCC/TCU.
 18. The AVCS of claim 17, further comprising a cloud infrastructure; and an application service subsystem.
 19. The AVCS of claim 18, wherein the cloud infrastructure comprises a computation module and a storage module.
 20. The AVCS of claim 18, wherein the application service subsystem provides additional information acquisition capability as a service to the AVCS; additional storage needs as a service to the AVCS; additional control capability as a service to the AVCS; additional computing resources to the AVCS; additional sensing capability as a service to the AVCS; and/or additional operations and maintenance capability as a service to the AVCS.
 21. The AVCS of claim 17, providing functions to vehicles for performing driving tasks, wherein the functions comprise one or more of: sensing functions, prediction functions, planning and decision-making functions, and control functions; and the functions are performed using data provided by one or more of: the other AVs, the RSU, the cloud-based platform, and the TCC/TCU.
 22. The AVCS of claim 17, further comprising one or more of: a communication module, a computation module, a storage module, a sensing module, a prediction module, a decision-making module, a planning module, a control module, and a security module.
 23. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the sensing subsystem is configured to acquire data from one or more of: the other AVs, the RSU, the cloud-based platform, and the TCC/TCU to generate comprehensive information at a microscopic level, wherein said comprehensive information comprises vehicle information, weather information, vehicle attribute data, traffic state information, road information, and/or incident information.
 24. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the prediction subsystem is configured to predict the behavior of individual vehicles at a microscopic level and to predict a traffic state or a traffic demand using data from one or more of the other AVs, the RSU, the cloud-based platform, and the TCC/TCU.
 25. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the planning and decision-making subsystem is configured to provide individual vehicles with decision instructions at a microscopic level using data from one or more of the other AVs, the RSU, the cloud-based platform, and the TCC/TCU, wherein the decision instructions comprise instructions for longitudinal control and for lateral control.
 26. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the control subsystem is configured to produce or receive time-sensitive control instructions for specific vehicles to fulfill driving tasks using data from one or more of the other AVs, the RSU, the cloud-based platform, and the TCC/TCU, wherein said time-sensitive control instructions comprise instructions for vehicle longitudinal acceleration and speed, vehicle lateral acceleration and speed, and vehicle orientation and direction.
 27. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform provides individual vehicles with vehicle-specific information comprising weather information, pavement conditions, and/or estimated travel time.
 28. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform is configured to allocate computation power and storage resources and to provide one or more of sensing functions, prediction functions, planning functions, decision-making functions, and/or control functions at a microscopic level, a mesoscopic level, and a macroscopic level.
 29. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein said cloud-based platform is configured to: a) fuse multi-source data collected from one or more of the other AVs, the RSU, the cloud-based platform, and the TCC/TCU; b) implement learning-based models, statistical models, and empirical models; and/or c) optimize the output of one or more of the sensing subsystem, the prediction subsystem, the planning and decision-making subsystem, and the control subsystem.
 30. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform provides a virtual traffic light control function by receiving sensor information from road side sensors; analyzing the sensor information; and sending sensor information to vehicles.
 31. The AVCS of claim 17, providing a fleet maintenance function comprising remote vehicle diagnostics, intelligent fuel-saving driving, and intelligent charge/refuel.
 32. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform provides operations and maintenance services for vehicles; and/or provides security, redundancy, and resiliency measures.
 33. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform uses a weighted fusion of data and a traffic state estimation and prediction algorithm to provide an estimated traffic state.
 34. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform communicates with one or more of the other AVs, the RSU, and the TCC/TCU; and receives vehicle-specific information from one or more of the AVs, the RSU, or the TCC/TCU.
 35. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform provides safety and efficiency measures for vehicle operations and control under adverse weather conditions.
 36. The AVCS of claim 17, wherein the cloud-based platform is configured to distribute driving tasks and functions for a specific vehicle. 